What is a data broker, and how do they get your info?

There’s an entire industry built on collecting and selling information about you — companies most people have never heard of, holding files that can include your name, address, habits, purchases and more. They’re called data brokers, and understanding them is the first step to limiting what they hold.

Who they are

Data brokers are businesses whose product is you — or rather, profiles of millions of people. They gather data from many sources, combine it into detailed dossiers, and sell access to advertisers, marketers, background-check services and others. You never signed up with them directly, which is exactly why they’re easy to overlook.

Where they get your data

Their sources are more mundane, and more numerous, than you’d think:

• Public records — property, court, voter and similar filings.
• Loyalty cards, warranty registrations and online forms you fill in.
• Website trackers and your browsing activity, tied together across sites.
• Other brokers — they buy and sell data among themselves, compounding it.

How to limit what they hold

You can’t erase yourself entirely, but you can shrink your footprint. Reduce fresh tracking with a tracker blocker and a VPN so less new data flows in — see how to stop targeted ads. Opt out where brokers offer it (many are legally required to). Be stingy with forms and loyalty schemes. And in some regions, data-protection laws give you the right to request deletion — our guide on removing your info from the internet walks through it.

The mindset that helps

Think of your personal data as something worth being stingy with. Every form you skip, every tracker you block, and every unnecessary account you don’t create is a little less that ends up in a broker’s file. It adds up over time.